Anchorage



y 1949- E. A. BLACK 2,468,729

ANQHORAGE Filed Oct. 5, 1945 FIGI IN V EN TOR.

ERIC A. BLACK Patented May 3, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ANCHORAGE Eric A. Black, Red Bank, N. J.

Application October 5, 1945, Serial No. 620,619

(Granted under the act of .March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928,; 370 0. G. 757) 2 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to anchorages.

In connection with the construction of radio towers and the like, it is necessary to sink guy anchorages in the ground about them. Due to the upward tension on said guys, ordinary solid or hollow piles are not usually entirely satisfactory. Hence anchors having outwardly extending fiukes of some kind are usually used. These however are more difiicult to sink than the simple pile type anchorages.

It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide anchorages which may be installed with the relative ease of installation of simple pile type anchorages, but which nevertheless have the holding power of fluke type anchorages.

It is another object to provide a fluke type anchorage which is adapted to be sunk with its flukes unextended but which incorporates means for readily extending said fiukes after the anchorage has been sunk.

It is another object to provide such an anchorage which may be installed in different types of ground.

It is a further object to provide such an .anchorage, wherein the fiukes may be set by explosive means.

It is a still further object to provide such an anchorage which may be easily extracted from relatively soft ground.

These, and other objects and advantages .of my present invention, which will be better :understood as the detailed description thereof progresses, are obtained in the following manher:

I provide an anchorage which comprises a hollow pile which is relatively easy to sink, and a plurality of fiukes which are unextended while the pile is being driven into the ground but which may be caused to be extended outwardly from said pile, by means of explosive charges, after the pile has been sunk.

In the accompanying specification there is described, and in the annexed drawing shown, what is at present considered a preferred embodiment of my present invention. It is however to be understood that my present invention is not limited to said embodiment, inasmuch as changes therein may be made without the exercise of the invention and within the true spirit and scope of the claims hereto appended.

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional View of an anchorage embodying the present invention, wherein the hollow pile is shown in position in the ground and the lowermost pistol has been positioned therein andis ready for firing;

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a View similar to Fig. l, the parts being shown after three pistols have been positioned and fired;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional View, taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 55 of Figure 3.

Referring now to the drawings, the anchorage illustrated includes a hollow pile H which is pierced by two openings l3 in register near its upper end which are receivable .to a through bolt 14, to which a guy (not shown) may be secured. Said pile H is fabricated of a metal,

such as aluminum, which has the necessary tensile strength, but which nevertheless may be pierced by a projectile type fluke as will become clear hereinafter.

The anchorage shown will also include a plurality (ordinarily three) of fluke pistols l5, each of which comprises a vertically disposed, steel, shallow cylindrical body ll of a size to slidably fit the inside of the pile ll. Diametrically positioned within the said bod I! is a horizontally disposed cylindrical barrel chamber 19, at one end of which is a circular, axially disposed, muzzle opening 2| of lesser diameter than the barrel chamber I9.

As may be seen in Figure 1, prior to firing of the pistol, there is positioned at the other end of the barrel chamber IS a disk .of explosive charge 23, and immediately above it is a percussion cap 25. Above the said cap 25 is 'a hammer opening 21 receivable to an elongated percussion hammer rod 29.

A blind, internally threaded hole 3| extends a short distance down into the center of the top of the body ll. Threadable into said hole 3| is a pistol placing rod 33 (Figures 1 and 2) which is longer than the pile H and is threaded at one end.

Positioned within the chamber I9 and muzzle opening 2| is a projectile 35, which is made up of a rod-like fluke 31 (of a diameter to slidably fit the said muzzle opening 2|) having at one end a cylindrical head 39 (of a size to slidably fit the barrel chamber 19). Before the pistol I5 has been fired (Figure 1), the head 39 of the projectile 35 is positioned at the inner end of the barrel chamber [9 and abuts the explosive charge 23, and the outer end of the fluke 37 is substantially flush with the outer end of the muzzle opening 2! after firing (Figure 3) the head 39 is disposed at the opposite end of the barrel chamber l9 and the fluke extends through the muzzle opening 2i and outside the pistol body H.

The pistol placing rod 33 may be supported axially within the pile H, at any vertical position, by a clamp 4| which comprises two metal straps of a greater length than the diameter of the pile II which straps are secured to each other :at one end, and are adjustably spaced at the other by means of a bolt and wing nut 43.

In the use of the anchorage just described, the pile H is first sunk into the ground 45 in any suitable manner. For instance, in soft ground the pile l I may be sunk by alternately ramming with a follower and a sledge and digging out the soil inside with an augur; and in hard ground by drilling a hole with an augur or stone drill and sinking the pile ii therein. A pistol placing rod 33 is then threaded into the hole 3i of one of the pistols l5 and the latter is slid down the inside of said pile H to a position somewhat above the lower extremity thereof. The said pistol 15 may be sustained in that position by means of the clamp M which rests upon the upper end of the pile i I and is tightened about the rod 33 by means of the wing nut 43.

The percussion hammer rod 29 is then extended down through the pile H and into the hammer opening 27 until it rests upon the percussion cap 25. The percussion cap 25 may then be set oiT by means of a hammer blow on the upper end of said hammer rod 29. The firing of ll until it rests upon the first pistol l5, but with its muzzle aimed in a different direction, preferably one hundred and twenty degrees therefrom, and it too is similarly fired. One or more additional pistols may be lowered and fired (three being shown in the drawings). The pistols l5 are preferably oriented so that their fiukes, when extended, are positioned in helical arrangement about the pile ii. If the ground is soft the anchorage may then be removed by rotating the '29 removed, a guy bolt pile H, the flukes acting as a screw thread and thus allowing the lower flukes to come up through the ground broken up by the uppermost fluke. After all of the pistols have been fired and the clamp 4i, pistol placing rod 33 and. hammer rod l4 may be inserted through the holes 13 for the attachment of a guy (not shown).

A certain specific form of the present invention has been described and illustrated above as an example. The invention, however, is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an anchorage, a hollow pile, a fluke pistol member snugly fitting within said pile and positionable slidably within said pile, said pistol member including a projectile having a fluke and a head of greater diameter, explosive means to propel the fluke through the wall of the hollow pile, and means within the pistol member to retain the head within the pistol member.

2. In an anchorage, a hollow pile; a fluke pistol comprising a shallow metal cylinder snugly fitting within said hollow pile and positionable slidably in longitudinal and rotary directions within said pile, and pierced by a substantiallytransverse barrel chamber provided with a muzzle opening of less diameter than the balance of the chamber, and provided with a projectile positioned within said chamber and having a fluke to slidably fit said muzzle and a head of sufiicient diameter to prevent its passing through said muzzle, and provided with an explosive charge within said chamber; detachable means operable from one end of said pile to position said pistol within said pile and to sustain it in any desired position; and detachable means operable from one end of said pile to fire said explosive charge; whereby the projectile may be fired so that the fluke will pierce the pile and extend laterally therefrom and the head being unable to pass through the muzzle will remain within the chamber.

ERIC A. BLACK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 854,073 Bruckner et al May 21, 1907 1,746,848 Bates Feb. 11, 1930 1,961,591 McArdle et a1 June 5, 1934 2,266,352 I Zschokke Dec. 16,1941 2,269,646 Burke Jan. 13, 1942 2,381,929 Schlumberger Aug. 14, 1945 

